Brits look set for a bank holiday sizzler - with highs of 21C in some parts for the long-awaited Coronation weekend.
While much of the country may be in a cold grip at the moment, brighter conditions are on their way with the Met Office predicting a transition to warmer weather soon - in time for the Coronation.
Charles is set to be crowned on Saturday May 6 with tens of thousands expected to line the route when he and Queen Consort Camilla make their way to Westminster Abbey.
So far the signs suggest the streets will not be filled with union flag umbrellas as temperatures are set to increase over the weekend.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Steve Willington said: “The cold conditions from earlier in the week will linger longest in the far north of Scotland but the rest of the UK will see the transition to warmer, but more unsettled conditions.
"However, frost is still a possibility in central areas of the UK where cloud gives way to clearer spells.
“Following on from Wednesday’s largely cloudy conditions, two areas of rain will move in overnight. Western Scotland and the South West will see the first rainfall, which could be heavy at times.
"In Scotland there is a chance of transient mountain snow as the rain band spreading from the west bumps into the colder air to the north and east.”
The news will be welcome to millions of Brits planning on spending the day with their friends, loved ones and neighbours at street parties to celebrate the first coronation in the UK since 1953.
Chris Almond is a Deputy Chief Meteorologist. Talking about the lead into the bank holiday weekend, he said: “By Friday temperatures will have increased so that we will see values around 18-21C across parts of the UK.
“The coming bank holiday weekend itself will be a mixture of brighter conditions and showers.
"These showers will tend to be heaviest and most frequent in the west on Saturday.
"On Sunday most locations can expect to see at least some showers, whereas on the bank holiday Monday the focus for showers is more likely to be the east, with drier conditions elsewhere. Temperatures will be reasonable and above average.”
Science also seems to agree we could have a sunny coronation.
Dr Stephen Burt, from the University of Reading’s Department of Meteorology, looked back at more than a century to see what the weather has been on May 6 in years gone by.
And it seems to support the hope the sun will be out.
Dr Burt said: “The mean daily maximum temperature on 6 May averages 16.9 °C, a little cooler than the May average as it's early in the month.
“Temperatures on the date have ranged from just 9.2 °C (in 1932) to 25.5 °C (in 1995). The chance of 20 °C is about 1 in 4 (seven times in 30 years).
“On May 6 in 30 years, 7 days had 25 per cent or less cloud cover, and 8 days were completely cloudy.
“Based purely on climatology, we might expect a dry and fairly sunny day that is a little on the cool side.
"It is important to be clear that this is not a forecast as such – that will have to wait for a little closer to the date itself as weather forecast models have little reliability that far ahead."
